Mystic Force: Judging a Book By its Cover
by thunderyoshi
Summary: Oneshot. Set after Stranger Within. Electra has a new lesson for the team, and it comes in the shape of her student Myka, Master Swoop's niece who has been under Electra's guidance for 2 years. At first she worries that the lesson won't sink in, but the results of the lesson show themselves in a way she didn't expect.


Judging A Book

Training sessions with Electra always guaranteed at least a few bruises, but at least they were interesting. There was always some hidden lesson. So no matter how much the Mystic Force Rangers complained, they did enjoy it. When they weren't eating dirt anyway.

"Alright guys, for your next lesson, I would like you to meet Myka," Electra introduced the 13 year old girl beside her. She was small, sprite-like, with black hair that was cut roughly above the shoulders and looked suspiciously like it had been cut with a knife. Her teal eyes were filled with curiosity, betraying the bored expression that was being maintained across her face despite the stares of the rest of the Rangers.

"Uh...is it ok for her to be here?" Maddie questioned, looking around at Udonna, who watched from the side with Claire. The apprentice looked a little concerned, but Udonna's expression gave nothing away.

"It is perfectly fine," Udonna nodded, allowing a small smile. "Myka has known of Electra's Ranger duties for a while now," the witch explained. Vincent turned back to Myka, his dark brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. She just blinked back, appearing indifferent.

"Nick," Electra addressed the leader of their team. "I want you to fight Myka," the Red Ranger's eyes widened and he stared at Myka, who barely reached Electra's shoulder. The others looked very confused at Electra's request, while the Jackal master looked just as indifferent as Myka did.

"But she's..."

"But she's what?" Electra asked, tilting her head slightly with a blank expression. "Go on, fight," the Black Ranger instructed as Nick struggled to find the right words. Myka was small and slight and didn't look like she could lift a weapon, let alone fight the Red Power Ranger. Knowing that he had no choice though, Nick shuffled through the leaves and stood in the centre of the area Electra used for training. Myka stepped forwards as well, facing him.

"Do I really have to-"

"Just do it Nick," Electra interrupted him, rolling her eyes. She was quickly growing impatient, which never bode well for the Rangers. Grumbling under his breath about not being able to finish a sentence, Nick turned to face Myka again, and reluctantly attacked.

Nick's dark eyes widened as Myka dodged his kick so easily that there wasn't an ounce of focus in her expression. As Nick attempted to fix his mistake, Myka swung into action. She grabbed his ankle, and forced it up into the air. Nick stumbled backwards as she released his ankle, and he barely managed to stay on his feet. Myka took this opportunity to push forwards, catching him with several punches before knocking him to the ground with a sweeping kick.

Nobody spoke as the fire wizard fell into the leaves that covered the hard ground that barely saw any rain. Myka took a step back, breathing a little more heavily as she bowed to him in a way that was identical to Electra. Nick stared up at Myka, his arms and torso stinging from the blows that she had dealt.

"That bow..." Vida frowned as she recognised it.

"Myka is my student, and has been so for two years now," Electra announced with a smirk. "She has been learning the art of Pai Zhuq since she was six years old," the stunned Rangers looked from Myka, to Electra, and back again. There was nothing threatening about the 13 year old.

"That would have been a nice heads up," Nick complained as Maddie and Xander helped him up.

"That's the point!" Electra exclaimed lightly, rolling her eyes again. She walked over to Myka and put a hand on her shoulder. "You underestimated your opponent," she told Nick calmly. He felt his face start to burn with embarrassment.

"Like they all do..." Myka spoke for the first time, her voice soft and slightly lilting. "Would have expected more from the guy who wears the red spandex," she muttered, and Nick's eyes narrowed at her in a glare. Myka didn't even blink.

"You can't judge a book by its cover," Electra ignored Myka's words. "In a fight, misjudging your enemy could get you killed," she told them gravely. "Of course..." she smiled. "You mustn't misjudge your friends either," The Rangers stood in silence as they processed this.

1-2-3-4-5

"I can't believe you're a Ranger again," Myka rolled her eyes as she sat with Electra at a cafe, eating a piece of cake. "How many times does this make it?" she asked throw a mouthful.

"Does your uncle know about your severe lack of table manners?" was Electra's reply as she set down her cup. Myka's teal eyes rolled again, and she leaned back in her seat. "This makes it a third team, but the fourth time altogether," Electra responded as Myka finished chewing. "Another question, don't you have some kind of set Pai Zhuq diet?" she asked as Myka helped herself to a second piece of cake.

"Shouldn't you?" Myka challenged, and Electra laughed. Myka was closed off to most, except Electra after a lot of work. After getting past the tough wall, she found that the student was awkward and shy, but also very honourable and caring.

"Fair play," she nodded in defeat, knowing that her own eating habits were not exactly recommended for anyone who practised Pai Zhuq.

"This magic stuff though," Myka spoke up as she finished her food. "It's pretty cool," she commented, and Electra's grin widened.

"Did I just hear you comment positively on this?" she asked, and Myka's pale features tinged pink.

"Shut up," she grumbled.

"Hey, I'm your teacher, you should show me some respect," Electra leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. Myka scoffed.

"Only reason I didn't comment positively on your past Ranger stuff is because of the whole, y'know, belief that you were betraying the Pai Zhuq community?" Myka reminded Electra, who chuckled to herself. For centuries, the Pai Zhuq and Ninja communities had been locked in a deep hatred, and neither knew how it had started. And when Electra helped the Ninjas in defeating Lothor, it had been seen as betrayal. Her parents still refused to speak to her until she stopped being friends with them.

"True," Electra chose not to think much about it. She was thankful she was busy most of the time, it gave her little time to think about it. "Now come on, finish your tea and I'll take you back to the temple," she told the 13 year old, who smiled back and focused on her drink.

1-2-3-4-5

Electra walked into Rootcore after leaving Myka back at the Pai Zhuq temple, and looked around. Nick and Xander were sitting at the table, attempting to learn their incantations, while Vincent sat on the steps nearby, pretending to read a book.

"Hey guys," Electra slumped down in a seat.

"Dropped Myka off already?" Nick asked in surprise as he looked up. Electra just smirked, and Nick remembered. "Oh yeah...must be handy having the power to teleport," he commented enviously.

"It's useful now and again," the Black Ranger smirked, lifting a book. She flicked through it, before glancing over at her brother. "Is he _still _sulking about Vida?" she asked, much quieter this time.

"Seems so," Xander glanced up for a moment to look at Vincent, who had been staring at the same page for nearly an hour. It had been a couple of days since he had ended things with Vida after realising her feelings for Chip, and the Gold Ranger hadn't snapped out of his depression since.

"He's been pretty quiet in work," Nick commented. "What's he like at home?" he glanced to Electra, who sighed.

"Spends most of the time in his room," she shook her head, glancing at her brother again. "I've been pretty busy lately, I haven't seen him much," Electra told them. She hadn't had much chance to relax, with her Ranger duties, magic lessons, her own kung fu training and a little motocross training.

"He'll snap out of it soon enough," Nick returned his gaze to the book he had been reading.

"I hope so...I've never seen him this way before..." Electra murmured. Vincent had always been a bit of a ladies man, but he had never seemed so down after ending a relationship.

"Vincent?" the thunder wizard looked up, snapping out of his daze as Claire approached him. "You've been reading that page for over an hour," she looked worried. "Is everything ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, just memorising a spell on..." Vincent trailed off as he realised that there was no spell on the page he had been staring at, only a picture and description of a fairy. "Well that's embarrassing," he murmured as Claire sat down beside him and smiled.

"It's about Vida, isn't it?" she asked, and Vincent glanced at her in surprise. "I know it's not my place...but if you need someone to talk to..." Claire offered shyly, going red. The brown haired Ranger blinked in surprise as he watched her. The blonde sorceress-in-training was clumsy, absent-minded, a terrible cook, and couldn't correctly cast a spell without a lot of practice and guidance. Yet here she was, offering comfort with a smile, despite the many, _many _times he had laughed at her mess-ups.

"_You mustn't misjudge your friends either,"_ Electra's words from their lesson that morning echoed in Vincent's head. He realised what she meant. Claire may be clumsy, but she was sweet, kind, and cared about the Rangers.

"I hate it when she's right..." Vincent muttered to himself, and Claire's smile dropped a little in confusion. "Sorry, was talking to myself. I'm alright, I guess," he nodded, managing a smile. "Just a little upset that it didn't work out," Vincent admitted. He looked down at his hands. Claire hesitated, before putting a hand on his arm. Vincent tensed as his stomach flipped.

"It'll be ok," Claire was apparently oblivious to his reaction to her touch. "You just need time," she told him with a bright smile. Vincent barely registered her words, looking down at her hand as he wondered why he had reacted in such a way.

"Well that is interesting..." Nick and Electra looked up at Xander's quiet words. They looked at the smirk on the Australian's face, and followed his gaze to find Vincent watching Claire with wide brown eyes as she smiled, speaking to him quietly. Electra leaned back in her chair, resting her elbow on the back of it as she smirked as well.

"That is quite interesting," she nodded as Nick raised an eyebrow. "I don't think he's realised it yet. My brother is a ladies man, but he's also quite dense," she commented, looking to the green ranger as his grin widened.

"Let me guess, another wager?" Nick rolled his eyes, recognising the look that the two shared.

"Why, are we becoming predictable?" Electra asked in mock horror, making Xander laugh. "So, beanstalk, what do you wager?" she asked, looking to the Green Ranger with a grin. Nick just shook his head as the two placed their bets on their unsuspecting team-mate, who was smiling genuinely for the first time since he had ended things with Vida a few days before.

"I better go, my shift at Rock Porium starts soon," Vincent checked his watch and smiled at Claire, who smiled back as she got up.

"I better get back to my chores anyway. I hope you're feeling better," she told him, and the Gold Ranger nodded.

"Much, thanks Claire," he smiled, and Claire blushed before rushing away to do her chores. Vincent smiled softly as he watched her stumble, before he turned to walk out of Rootcore. Vincent paused as he saw the other three Rangers watching him, and frowned. "What?" he demanded, before walking off out of their headquarters.

"This is going to be fun," Electra laughed, winking to the two male Rangers at the table. It seemed that somebody had taken in her lesson after all.

**Hope you like it! I've had the idea of Myka showing up for a lesson in my mind since I started writing Dark as the Night, but I couldn't figure out how to put it in like I wanted, so I decided to do a oneshot!**

**Let me know what you think!**


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